Devolver Digital

Playing Eitr, I’m getting flashbacks to Dark Souls. My character, the Shield Maiden, slowly advances in a dark world full of undead creatures. She enters combat. Each encounter is tense. Eventually, my hero died after I got sloppy and didn’t block well enough against a skeleton warrior. Another time, I got careless and was impaled by a trap.

I died and died a lot, but yet, there was a fairness in my failures. Like Dark Souls, Eitr punishes players who rush in. Exploration is methodical through the proceduarally generated levels. Players will get a lot out of the Shield Maidens set of moves, which includes a block (L2), a parry (L1), a kick (R1) and an attack (R2). They’ll have to target enemies so they can lock on and circle around them by tilting the right analog stick.

Thankfully, even though I died, I got to keep my loot so that is how I got stronger after each death. The game also randomly generates temporary debuffs and penalties each time players die making each revival a bit more punishing. It’ll make each level more intense as players search for strong gear to get through Eitr’s nine realms.

It’s an indie title that bears watching when it’s released on the PlayStation 4 and PC in 2016.